California Campus Compact is pleased to announce Ms. Laurie Laird, Associate Director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education at Santa Clara University, as the recipient of the 2011 Richard E. Cone Award for Excellence & Leadership in Cultivating Community Partnerships in Higher Education.

Each year the Richard E. Cone Award is bestowed upon an individual who has made significant contributions to the development of partnerships between institutions of higher education and communities. For more than a decade, Ms. Laird has been a tireless advocate of human rights and community-based learning, building strong and sustainable partnerships between the University and over 50 community organizations in the San Jose and Santa Clara area. Since she joined the University in 2001, she has served as the Program Director of the Sobrato and Loyola Residential Learning Communities and as the Program Director of the Arrupe Center. She has a longstanding commitment to international relations and has for the last seven years, led a delegation of faculty and administrators to El Salvador annually, educating faculty and staff on the current social justice and community issues in El Salvador. Prior to joining the university, Ms. Laird worked for the Global Fund for Women as a grants manager and program coordinator.

Learn more about Ms. Laird and read the entire press release on our website.